Tuesday, March 31, 2015

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: "Whether you're a good karaoke singer or bad, eventually your number comes up. It's only a matter of time." from Adam Johnson's, "The Orphan Master's Son"

QUOTE II: "You now the greatest lesson of history? It's that history is whatever the victors say it is. That is the lesson." from Anthony Doerr's, "All the Light We Cannot See"

IN OTHER NEWS:

Adam sent THIS ARTICLE in about Christian music - a classic tail wagging the dog story.

Fr. Ference has another great article on "Word on Fire" entitled "An Incarnational Day. Read more HERE.

From the Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter: When was the last time you read that the diocese recommended something on TV. Well, here is the exception that proves the rule. Read more HERE about a 12 week series on the Bible that is thought to be worthwhile.

Linda sent in THIS link to a video about African American & "white" spirituals.

Friday, March 27, 2015

This is the second to the last of the precepts of the
Church.Sounds like a bit of a
downer.There is no asking if you did
anything that deserves a penance.It doesn’t
inquire about your self-esteem.It doesn’t
even ask you if you think it is fair.It
says, “Do penance.”

Are Catholics Debbie Downers just assuming the worst?Scripture does say after all, “He who says
that he is without sin calls God a liar.”That’s pretty heavy stuff.

Not to sound like the Ministry of Double Speak, I think it
quite the opposite.In that directive to
do penance is an indication that doing penance does some good, that there is
something toward which it is pointing.

Also is the thought that we don’t have to sweep things under
the rug – DEAL with them!The problem
can be fixed!The relationship can be
repaired.What is the best type of
penance after all?One in which a rift
has been identified and something is done either to fix that rift or try to
accomplish something that will prevent that rift from occurring again in the
future (or both!)When combined with an
honest examination of conscience, penance is not a punishment but a pathway to
the best version of yourself.Catholics
are constantly called toward the ideal, to achieve a little bit more, the grow
in bravery with idea of sacrifice, to know oneself a little more deeply, all of
which is obtained far more easily through trial.And as each person grows in grace, the Church
receives grace upon grace as each individual grows in holiness.This is because we don’t save communities, or
parishes, or countries, but a soul at a time.

WARNING: YOU MAY WANT TO STOP READING NOW.

And because it is one soul at a time affecting the whole
body, we have communal times of penance, which we are obliged to observe.This includes days of fasting and abstinence.Every Friday of the year is a day of some
form of penance.Before Vatican II,
every Friday was a day to abstain from meat.Many mistakenly believe that this practice has been abrogated.It has not.What has changed is that the bishops of the United States have said that
in place of not eating meat on Friday, we may substitute another penance.For example, since I often do not have
control over my diet, I might substitute fasting from breakfast on Fridays (a
meal I dearly love.)If you do not
choose something different, then you may fall back on not eating meat.(Unfortunately now you know.That is why I suggested that you might want
to stop reading.)

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Here’s an interesting statistic for you:Approximately 300 persons per year are killed
in the state of California in hit and run accidents.That means most days a Californian will kill
another Californian with his car and then drive away to avoid
responsibility.Yesterday on NPR an
official of the state said (and this is an approximate quote since I was
driving and unable to write down what I heard) that this is a horrible
situation – near four times the national average – and that “a cultural change must take place.”His concern is California’s lack of concern
for accidents in which human lives are effected.You cannot simply hit a human being with your
car and then drive away.

But I thought, “Why not?”Is change what California really wants?Are they prepared to do what would be required in order to effect a “cultural
change?”Or do they have exactly what
they want?

Consider this about the Golden State:They are on the verge of allowing physician
assisted suicide.They are a death
penalty state.Abortion rights are
vigorously upheld.The state self-funded
embryonic stem cell research.And these
are just some of the issues that over a period of time teach a people that when
life inconveniences you, you may do away with it.

If you teach a rectory dog to bark whenever someone rings
the doorbell, you can’t expect him not to do so on the occasion that this time it
is the bishop that is ringing the bell.In a similar way, when you teach a body of people that when your life
might be change in a way that you don’t like you have a right to ask for death,
you can’t expect that people to keep such a belief in tight little boxes.Why is it Okay to kill a child in the womb
that will take away my college career or Okay to allow grandma to do away with
herself before she eats up my time or inheritance, but it is not Okay from me
walk away from an accident (after all, it was only an accident right?) since it
will simply eat up my time, attention, and resources and not really solve
anything?

So California, are you really ready for a “cultural change?”My prayers are with you.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Someone asked if I would print the description of the new painting at St. Sebastian that was printed in the bulletin but did not make it into the on-line version. Apologies to those of you becoming weary of this topic.

The
Gospel of Luke testifies, “Then Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Father, into
your hands I commend my spirit,’ and when he had said this he breathed his
last.”This new painting captures the
center of this sentence; the moment between that last word and when His breath
escaped his lips.The painful writhing
is coming to an end and His Body begins to relax upon the nails that pin it to
the Cross elongating His wrists.We see
the hands in the process of unclutching, giving into the pressure caused by the
spikes driven through them and the downward weight of the body, exposing the
dirt on their palms that was ground into them when they were thrust forward to
protect Our Savior when He fell while carrying His Cross.

Jesus’ face, which a
moment ago was twisted in agony, now goes through a transformation as the pain
lessens with the onset of death.Though
the depiction of the sky reminds us that “darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon,” a heavenly light falls upon Jesus’ face.Is it just now that He begins to see His
Father’s loving countenance?We are half
a heartbeat from death, halfway through the sentence in St. Alphonsus Ligouri’s
twelfth station of the Cross, “And abandoning Himself to the weight of His
body, bows His head and dies.”

Already the events that followed Christ’s death, portrayed
in the Gospel of Matthew, begin to infringe upon the scene.“The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs
were opened, and the bodies of many saints that had fallen asleep were
raised.”In the Old Testament, the
coming of God is frequently portrayed with the imagery of an earthquake and
Jesus speaks of the earthquakes that will accompany the “labor pains” that
signify the beginning of the dissolution of the old world.The ground begins to crack open starting at
the base of the Cross and snaking out toward the bottom right of the
painting.The wind begins to pick up
curling the proclamation nailed to the top of the Cross and a flash of
lightning streaks over the city heightening the imagery of the disturbance of
the elements.“Surely this was the Son
of God.”

This is the moment everything changes, a match in the
process of being struck, the glass striking the tile floor but before it begins
to crack.In this moment, like a
specter, a skull appears at the base of His Cross.It reminds us of the transitory nature of
this life, it tells us this place is Golgotha, “the place of the skull,” and
lastly, reminds us that Christ, the second Adam, was crucified over the bones
of the first Adam, making a fitting ending to our estrangement from
heaven.“And so it is written, ‘The
first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam a life giving spirit’” 1
Corinthians 15:45)

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Illinois Representative Aaron Schock, described by the Associated Press article as young, media savvy, fit, and having a certain talent for fundraising, abruptly resigned recently in part due to his extravagant office reportedly decorated in the lavish style seen on Downton Abby. How do people feel about the beautiful space he created? Opinions run from the uniformed and apathetic to the scandalized and angry. Critics questioned the expense and appearance of extravagance and applied enough pressure that he decided to step down.

What would we do without the critic - the voice amid the crowd that cries out, "Are you sure that what you are doing is right and just? I have another way of looking at this situation." Like a conscience or the court jester, the critic makes those in power (if they are open) to at least stop and think for a moment.

Yesterday such a conversation took place in the comments section of this blog concerning a new painting installed at St. Sebastian. The point in question, one that has been asked of the Church for hundreds of years concerning everything from the Vatican Museums to a new vestment at a poor parish, is, "Is art the best use of resources?" There are those who would say, "No. Before money is spent on art, take care of all the people in your area. THEN think about art." It is a statement that should make everyone stop a moment and think especially as they pass the person standing at the end of the highway ramp with a sign reading, "Any help would be appreciated. God bless you."

So I thought about it. There are some ways in which I agree with the Anonymous person who posted yesterday. We should be very careful in this regard. Of course, we could, as a parish community EASILY just meet in the local school gym for Mass on Sundays instead of our church building but we chose to have a building. Most people would give this a thumbs up. But at what point do you cross over from prudent use of funding for such endeavors to a Downton Abby like scandal?

Large amounts of money are spent by the church every year on "art." There is a new parish going up in our diocese and I have pleaded with the pastor not to buy his art out of a catalogue. Now commissioning art can be dangerous and expensive. But is it worth it?

There are those who feel that the arts should be in free service to the Church (organists, painters, etc.) For some reason the time and talent of artist is in a different category than roofers, HVAC personnel, the janitors, or even the priests for that matter. But that is an extreme case - but none-the-less one that comes my way from time to time.

This particular piece of art is attracting attention. Half of the conversations I have are people telling me how this picture moved them. Within 15 hours of this painting being posted online at Lighthouse Media, it has received 15,000 "like" hits. (That's ten thousand an hour!) People are already stopping into the church just to see it. The conversation on this blog yesterday means that SOMETHING (whether positive or negative) is taking place. People are talking. That means the Church is making an impact on the cultural scene through art. If we don't enter the scene here, we have begun to lose influence on our culture.

Another aspect is that people don't stop to wonder where the money is going when true art is commissioned. It doesn't get buried in the sand. In this particular case a young man with a wife and three kids that he sends to Catholic school made a small portion of his living. Since he was supported by the Church, hopefully he and his family will then take care of the very people that our critic hopes we would pay attention to. Before people take care of the poor, they themselves must be inspired. And long after the resources that would have been added to the large amounts that already pass through this parish to take care of the poor would disappear, the painting will remain to inspire and ITSELF BE A CRITIC TO A GATHERED COMMUNITY - WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO RELIEVE PAIN AND SUFFERING TO THE LEAST OF MY BROTHERS. FOR WHEN YOU DO THAT FOR THEM, YOU DO IT FOR ME.

Not everyone will agree with me I realize. And I hope they don't. I hope they keep me on my toes, thinking and evaluating. I'd rather my money go toward something like this than expensive cable and phone plans, fancy cups of coffee, and extra cushiony toilet paper. And I will continue to sit back on my heels and think when such a critic (especially those I've met who purposely have chosen to live simply - small apartment - inexpensive car - volunteering in the community - working for non-profits) and evaluate very carefully if I believe in what I am doing.

Even though at times it is a hard pill to swallow, the critic plays an important role. Without the critic we may enter into the dangerous world of the unexamined life.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

About a year ago I received a call from a family of St.
Sebastianites, expressing their desire to commission a painting as a gift to
the parish and to support Catholic art and artists.They gave a generous donation toward the
project and we contacted Mr. Eric Armusik, the young artist from Hamburg, PA
who also executed our beautiful St. Sebastian paintings.After a period of prayer and discussion, it
was decided that the painting would be of the crucifixion and that it would be
approximately four by five feet.

Mr. Armusik was quite enthused about the project and the
scope of the endeavor grew – literally.The donors kindly enlarged their gift with the artist’s prompting and
along with that, the painting grew to nine and a half by five feet!The plan was to have the painting finished
and temporarily installed in our sanctuary for the season of Lent to assist the
parish in our Lenten prayers.But the
size of the task, other commissions being handled by the artist, and shipping
difficulties delayed its arrival in Akron by several weeks.But now it is here and installed in time for
this last half of this holy season.

We are so fortunate to have this new work of art.There is, in the end, these things: the one,
the true, the good, and the beautiful.And as Fr. Benedict Groeschel was fond of saying, “It is ultimately the
beautiful that will save us.”

It is not only beautiful, but utterly unique.It was not picked out of a catalogue and no
one will visit us and say, “We have that one at our parish too!”There are no mugs, calendars, or prayer cards
(yet) with this image on it anywhere in the world.Like a song of worship, you must be here, at
St. Sebastian, to experience its beauty and power to inspire.May it inspire more Catholics to support
Catholic art and artists so that the Church may return to its role of Patroness
of the Arts and through it, train artists in the sacred and gain influence once
again in the cultural scene.

Monday, March 9, 2015

It is said it started when English soldiers went to Ireland and disapproved of the dancing taking place there. So, keeping the bottom half of Dutch door closed, they would dance with their feet while keeping their arms still so it wouldn't look as though they were dancing.

English Clogging

Wooden shoes were preferred by those working in the dampness of the cotton industry. Legend says they would tap their feet in rhythm with the machinery to keep their feet warm. That is where English Clogging originated.

Northeast Ohio Stomp and Shuffle

With tons of snow falling on the populace and not wanting to soil their parish church with slush, this dance originated from parishioners stomping the snow from their feet and then shuffling on rough mats to get as much water of the bottom of their boots as possible so that they wouldn't go "SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK" walking down the main aisle.

Friday, March 6, 2015

In my grandparents day, when many Slovenian immigrants were
coming to my hometown, they wanted to start a Slovenian parish.So they went about knocking on doors trying
to raise funds.The fundraisers were
looked upon with suspicion however.In
the “old country” it was the government who built the churches through
taxes.People said, “You start building
and then we will give.”Of course, it doesn’t
work that way.

That is one danger of government funding projects to too far
of an extent.We get the idea that
things will always be there and I need not worry about it.SOMEBODY official will make sure that things
are taken care of.

Not so with a parish.A parish does not have to exist.It exists because some people are willing to show up, do ministry and projects,
and donate resources.As we have seen in
our diocese, when people stop doing that (mostly due to flight to the suburbs,)
parishes cease to exist.

So we come across the 6th precept of the
Church.It is to support your parish,
provide for your priest, and also to look out for the good of the greater
Church around the world and the work of the Holy Father.Yep, some of that means hard, cold cash.There is no getting around that.If you want to feed the poor, you need a
kitchen, and a kitchen costs money.MORE
IMPORTANT is prayer.Then there is
showing up.There is engaging in
ministry and cleaning pews.There are
mission trips, supporting the teachings of the Church, helping struggling
parishes, and reaching out to the greater community, social justice, and evangelization.When a parish does all of these things, it is
healthy.And for a parish to do all
these things, it needs you to do them or it doesn’t get done.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

I forgot to take the street sign down after the Diocesan
wide Night of Confessions last night and so went out this morning to wheel it
onto the rectory porch.(We had a steady
stream for all three hours by the way – with four priests hearing
confessions.Fr. P. came over for dinner
after and very late because he went 45 minutes over at St. Paul.)The taking down of the sign reminded me of my
days of assistant manager of the West Theatre, owned and operated by the Slovenian
Community of Barberton, Ohio.

It was (it’s now a
storage facility) a single screen, large neighborhood movie theater.Thursday night was always a busy night.While the week’s movie was playing for the
final time, we were busy erasing any trace of its existence.The marquee was changed (swaying old ladder
that took out bulbs on windy days) switching out posters, storing away
displays, and in general whetting people’s appetite for the next thing - the
old movie being “so two hours ago.”

How exactly opposite the Mass is.Movie are, “FORGET!LOOK AT THE SHINY NEW THING!KEEP RUNNING!”The Mass is, “REMEMBER!LOOK AT THIS THING THOUSANDS OF YEARS
OLD!SLOW DOWN!”We don’t put out a new, slick poster, we haul
out the old manger scene.We don’t cast
our gaze longingly at some new star, but among the saints who have been around
like old friends.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this.This dichotomy just seemed interesting as
this little chore was performed.“And
how many lessons have you failed to learn from such experiences because you did
not spiritualize them?”

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

I lost the reference for the following paragraph by it was
from a magazine called, “The Sun” from an edition from this past year.The author is going to make a statement.After you read it, stop and think about
it.Do you agree with it or not and most
importantly WHY?

“The self is always moving.It isn’t going to continue existing after you die.The minute you buy into the idea that some
part of you will hang around, you’ve removed yourself from this world of trees and
clouds and birds.And if you’re not in
this flowing world of change, then you’re nowhere.”

Now stop, pray, and think.Is this true?If it is true or
not true, why?

Now that you have done that, here is one possible response:

The man who made this statement is a man of deep faith.He bases his theory upon ideas that are no
more “provable” than that of the Christian – I would argue even less so.That nothing of us lives on is an assumed principle
upon which the rest of his theory rests.But even if we grant him this, does the rest of his hypothesis hold
true?

If that to which he is referring is the Christian theology
that is held by much of the Protestant world and that of some other religions
that creation is bad and spirit is good, then he may have something.Those who call the body evil (or at least
opposed to that which is good) have to deny the body and focus on the spirit
exclusively.Mud is bad, angels are
good.Therefor the world is something to
be used and discarded.Its sole purpose
is to steer us toward the spiritual.Then it is true that we not ever really here and a part of creation.

But is the opposite true?If nothing of us lives on does that ipso facto make us more here among
the birds and the clouds?If this is the
case then there are no consequences for how we treat the nature other what than
might recoil back on ourselves as the line goes, “Don’t pee in your own well.”But when I die, I cease to exist.Eventually there will be no one to remember
me.The Earth is a fluke that will one
day also simply cease to be.Humans will
not even be a memory.You might want to
keep things nice “for the next guy” but in the end that would just because you
want to not because there is any truth to the idea of “the good.”Preservation is just as much a selfish act as
abuse.So why not suck as much life out
of this earth as possible?Throw another
log on the fire, drink out of Styrofoam cup, and rev up the gas generator so that
you can listen to some tunes on your radio.If you are abusing anything, you are not really present to it either.

But what if, as in Catholic theology, everything that is is
good.God created all from nothing and
he holds it in being.Then everything to
some extent participates in God.The
computer screen on which you are reading this is good.The paper, ink, persons depicted, and form of
a porn magazine are good.What man did
with those things is bad.(Hence the
true perversion of sin!)If the world is
good, if there will be an accounting of how we handled the world (as there was
with Adam and the garden,) then won’t we appreciate more, be better to, be more
aware of, and be more present to the trees, the clouds, and the birds?

I had a skateboard once that I used on the parking lot
across the street from my house. I would
skate down the hill and then kick the board back up.My Mom stopped me one day to explain how
expensive that toy was and how I was expected to take better care of it.Knowing that my actions would be seen, and
being taught about the value of my board, I was much more present to it.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

MONDAY - Monday Diary: A day in the life of a priest.TUESDAY - Quote Tuesday: A post of an interesting quote along with various other things sitting on my computer from the past week such as links, polls, pictures, videos, or games.WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY - Thoughts for your consideration either from me or guest bloggers.FRIDAY - Friday Popourri - A grab bag of regular topics from symbolism to vocation stories.